farmdoc's blog post number 207

In December 1967, Sweetheart Vivienne and I honeymooned on Hayman Island. Propriety forbids me divulging details, but based on my meagre experience of one honeymoon, they’re sublime but nothing like real life. Governments have honeymoons too. The Rudd Government’s began almost a year ago – on 24 November 2007. No honeymoon lasts that long, so Rudd’s is all over, red rover. And my post-honeymoon impression of Rudd is disappointment – because his Government exudes style over substance, say over do. Take climate change, which Sir David King, UK’s former Chief Scientific Advisor, called ‘the most severe problem we’re facing today’. What’s Rudd done about it? Ratified Kyoto, introduced carbon trading to start in 2010 with concessions to major carbon producers, and means-tested the solar rebate. Pedestrian policy, methinks. What should he do? Much more. For example a really good idea from Thomas L Friedman, in Hot, Flat, and Crowded, is a floor price for petrol at the pump. Currently the Melbourne pump price is its lowest in a year – 121.7 cents/litre. That’s great for politicians but not our planet. The lower it goes, the less the investment in clean energy. A floor price of say 150 cents, indexed, would stimulate such investment, and if the true price falls below the floor price then the additional revenue would subsidise clean energy investment. The honeymoon’s over, Mr Rudd. Get to work. Please.